Page:The Works of Alexander Pope (1717).djvu/360
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324
The FIRST BOOK of
Reverse, O Jove, thy too severe decree,
Nor doom to war a race deriv'd from thee;
On impious realms, and barb'rous Kings, impose
Thy plagues, and curse 'em with such [1]sons as those.
Thus, in reproach and pray'r, the Queen exprest
The rage and grief contending in her breast;
Unmov'd remain'd the ruler of the sky,
And from his throne return'd this stern reply.
'Twas thus I deem'd thy haughty soul would bear
The dire, tho' just, revenge which I prepare
Against a Nation thy peculiar care:
No less Dione might for Thebes contend,
Nor Bacchus less his native town defend,
Yet these in silence see the fates fulfil
Their work, and rev'rence our superior will.
For by the black infernal Styx I swear,
(That dreadful oath which binds the thunderer)
'Tis fix'd; th' irrevocable doom of Jove;
No force can bend me, no persuasion move.
Nor doom to war a race deriv'd from thee;
On impious realms, and barb'rous Kings, impose
Thy plagues, and curse 'em with such [1]sons as those.
Thus, in reproach and pray'r, the Queen exprest
The rage and grief contending in her breast;
Unmov'd remain'd the ruler of the sky,
And from his throne return'd this stern reply.
'Twas thus I deem'd thy haughty soul would bear
The dire, tho' just, revenge which I prepare
Against a Nation thy peculiar care:
No less Dione might for Thebes contend,
Nor Bacchus less his native town defend,
Yet these in silence see the fates fulfil
Their work, and rev'rence our superior will.
For by the black infernal Styx I swear,
(That dreadful oath which binds the thunderer)
'Tis fix'd; th' irrevocable doom of Jove;
No force can bend me, no persuasion move.
- ↑ Tydeus and Polynices.
Haste